[ad_1]
Few CDMOs have been as active as Catalent in the past 18 months, as the company announced mergers, acquisitions, and additions almost weekly. The company’s next big move is slightly different as it announced a dive into gum vitamins on Monday.
The New Jersey-based company will buy Bettera Holdings and its four US manufacturing facilities for $ 1 billion, the company said on Monday.
Bettera specializes in nutritional supplements and is backed by Highlander Partners, a private equity firm. The company is based in Plano, TX and makes vitamins using gummy bears, chewable tablets, and lozenges. The deal allows Catalent to expand its softgel production as the market grows.
Catalent will pay for the deal through a combination of cash, credit and debt financing, according to a statement.
Aris Gennadios
“This acquisition is an important strategic move for Catalent’s consumer health business, where our leadership in manufacturing technologies and formulations can provide customers with more product development opportunities and expand manufacturing capabilities in this dynamic and rapidly growing segment,” said Aris Gennadios of Catalent in the prepared remarks. Gennadios is the president of the softgel and oral technology company.
The company has approximately 500 employees and sales in 2020 were around $ 150 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. For this year, sales growth of a further 20% is forecast. That prediction comes after Allied Market Research released a report that said gummy vitamins are becoming increasingly popular due to their smoother texture and difficulty swallowing pills. A January WSJ story drew an obvious line: A generation of children who took gummy vitamins had grown up. That, coupled with the colors and flavors, makes Gen Z attractive. In 2018, this market was valued at around $ 5.7 billion. It is forecast to be worth more than $ 9 billion by 2026.
“The introduction of gelatin-free, probiotic-fortified and non-genetically modified gum vitamins is expected to create lucrative opportunities for market expansion in the coming future,” said the report published in March 2020.
Bettera was founded with the goal of creating a “more enjoyable and convenient” form of nutritional supplement, Jeff Hull, CEO of Highlander Partners, said in a press release.
Jeff Hull
“Catalent has long had a similar vision, combined with specialized expertise, a history of successful innovation, a wide range of offerings and the resources to help Bettera continue to grow and meet customer and consumer needs,” he said. “Together, Catalent Consumer Health and Bettera are well positioned to continue Bettera’s mission of serving consumers and participating in the long-term growth of the self-care market.”
Bettera has four manufacturing facilities in Indiana, California, Chantilly, Virginia and New Jersey.
In August, Catalent announced that it would partner with DisperSol in the manufacture of cancer drugs. Catalent previously acquired German cell and gene therapy specialist RheinCell Therapeutics and signed contracts with Denver-based cannabidiol company JOS Pharmaceuticals and Austin, preclinical company Curtana Pharmaceuticals in the TX area, for which it will manufacture CT-170 – a drug therapy for Glioblastoma, medulloblastoma, and other brain tumors. All of this happened in just over a month. It will also upgrade its new facility in Anagni, Italy with two new 2,000 liter single-use bioreactors with manufacturing suites.
[ad_2]
